Willie Taylor Claims Day26 Would've "Smoked" B2K & Pretty Ricky In Verzuz

BY Gabriel Bras Nevares
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Willie Taylor Day26 Smoked B2K Pretty Ricky Verzuz
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 13: Qwanell "Que" Mosley, Robert Curry, Michael "Big Mike" McCluney, Brian Andrews and Willie Taylor of Day 26 attend "Kelli Potter & Day 26 Press Junket" at The Tess on April 13, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Nykieria Chaney/Getty Images)
Although Pretty Ricky came out on top against B2K in their Verzuz last night, Day26's Willie Taylor thinks they dodged the real bullet.

If you are a fan of 2000s R&B, then last night's Verzuz battle was right up your alley. B2K and Pretty Ricky faced off in a hit-for-hit match-up, and the latter group emerged as the victorious one. Still, there's one group they didn't face: Day26. Day's member Willie Taylor recently took to his Instagram page to boldly proclaim they would've definitely beat either boy band, doubling down after his initial comments prompted some debate.

"Honestly Speaking, We would have SMOKED both Groups Tonight!!!! SMOKED!!" he wrote on IG/Threads, which philip lewis caught on Twitter. "Great Show tonight fellas. But for what verzuz consist of easy Work!!!" But the singer also had praise for both groups, affirming this is just competitive drive.

"Yeah, I said what I said. Smoked," Taylor doubled down in another Instagram video, which The Shade Room caught on Instagram. "The game plan would've been incredible... We would've smoked them, both... But nah, I think it was a great Verzuz overall. Really good for the culture. Really good to see B2K and Pretty Ricky up on that stage doing their thing. I feel like B2K should've danced... That's part of who they are, what they bring... Pretty Ricky, I think they did their thing... But at the same time, they went to go and sing with the acoustic guitar. And that's what would've had us whooping on their a**es. Because if you play the acoustic guitar, we gon' sing that s**t better than you... It would've been a long night... I enjoyed the whole night... And I ain't telling y'all nothing I don't tell them. These are my brothers, for real... I would go to war behind it."

Willie Taylor's B2K & Pretty Ricky Verzuz Remarks

Willie Taylor also said the Verzuz didn't need to have back-and-forth disses because there was enough respect there. Still, he joked about mics being on and Day26 going "belt to a**" on both groups.

Amid other Day26 narratives, we'll see if other group members chime in. As for future Verzuz battles, nothing is on the docket yet at press time. But this R&B showdown and previous Verzuz engagements spell out good news on the horizon.

About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a staff writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH while completing his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication at The George Washington University in the summer of 2022. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel treasures the crossover between his native reggaetón and hip-hop news coverage, such as his review for Bad Bunny’s hometown concert in 2024. But more specifically, he digs for the deeper side of hip-hop conversations, whether that’s the “death” of the genre in 2023, the lyrical and parasocial intricacies of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, or the many moving parts of the Young Thug and YSL RICO case. Beyond engaging and breaking news coverage, Gabriel makes the most out of his concert obsessions, reviewing and recapping festivals like Rolling Loud Miami and Camp Flog Gnaw. He’s also developed a strong editorial voice through album reviews, think-pieces, and interviews with some of the genre’s brightest upstarts and most enduring obscured gems like Homeboy Sandman, Bktherula, Bas, and Devin Malik.

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